Friday, April 11, 2014

Ukrainian art director and digital artist Nastya Nudnik's "emoji-nation" series pairs well-known works of art with popular culture, social media and graphic design elements to create works that are as clever as they are timely.

My personal favorite is the 4th series, where paintings gain the addition of modal dialogs, but they're all pretty great in their own way. You can see them all right here: part 1, which pairs paintings with their emoji counterparts; part 2, where Edward Hopper's works gain social media icons; part 3, which shows paintings as movie posters; the aforementioned part 4; and part 5, which adds elements of Google's interface.

Friday, March 28, 2014

I've never been one for monograms, but Mymo, by Ultravirgo, is so different than anything else I've ever seen that I couldn't help but want to learn more. Billed as monograms reinvented for the 21st century, Mymo lets you combine any combination of two letters or numbers to create your very own, very personal, necklace or keychain.

Personal monograms used to be a badge of honor,
embroidered on our every work shirt. But somewhere between mass
production and ephemeral fashion trends, they were left behind. We love
them. So we’re bringing them back — reinvented in a more permanent,
sculptural form, produced just for you with state-of-the art equipment.

But why should a monogram be limited to initials?
Really, any two letters or numbers can make a personal statement: You
and your partner’s initials, your state abbreviation, your football
jersey number, your dog’s birthday. Whatever you want, we don’t judge.
Just pick something meaningful – and next time you see someone with a
Mymo, be sure to ask what theirs represents.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Committed to building structures that make life more fun, Luckey Climbers are the stuff that kid dreams are made of.

A Luckey Climber is a three dimensional
sculpture designed for children. Climbers encourage physical activity
and aid in developing critical gross motor skills. Climbers also offer
the sort of imaginative play experience that is important for
intellectual development. Made of bent plywood platforms that are
suspended by steel pipes and cables, climbers are visually elegant works
of art that are also part jungle gym and once alive with children they
become what Thomas Luckey called "fountains of children."

Do you want to climb on these as badly as I do? Read more about them on their website.

Monday, March 24, 2014

I spent quite a bit of time browsing through Yoskay Yamamoto's portfolio yesterday, and am quite taken with his artwork, particularly his sculptures, many of which he creates from a combination of hand carved bass wood and mixed media components. I especially like that all of his many figures - regardless of whether they're meant to evoke people, animals, cartoon characters, or even moons and planets - all seem so expressive. They're objects with narratives, regardless of whether they've been placed in a specific environment or not, as with his equally fantastic installation work, or even his paintings; it's no surprise to me that he began his career as an illustrator. As Yamamoto's bio explains:

Born and raised in Toba, Japan, Yoskay Yamamoto moved to the United States at the age of 15. A self-trained illustrator, Yamamoto's artistic tastes expanded as he fell in love with the urban culture of the West coast. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his new Western home with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his Asian heritage with urban pop art.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Pardon the radio silence, but Patrick and I were in Puerto Rico for a wedding - the first time away from Theo, I might add - and it's been a bit of a hectic few days since. It's not easy going from 80 degree sunny weather back to the cold of winter in New York either, let me tell you, which is why I needed to ease back into real life with another lovely vacation spot.

This beautiful Vineyard Retreat consists of a two-bedroom house and adjacent, open-floor plan, converted 1840s Methodist church. And the best part? It's available for vacation rentals through Welcome Beyond. Check it out right here.

wait...who writes this stuff?

Hello! I'm Sarah.
This little blog is my excuse to write about some of the great artists, craftsmen and designers out there, and to share all of the miscellaneous goodness that I come across. These are the things that excite and inspire me. Thanks for stopping by.